Introduction
Suicide is an urgent public health crisis in the United States. It is one of the leading causes of death, and firearms play a central role in suicide mortality. Although suicide is mainly thought of as a mental health concern, data tells us that access to firearms impacts suicide risk. In this blog post, we review research on the intersection of firearms and suicide, focusing on rates and risk factors to better understand the role firearms play in suicide deaths in the United States.
Firearms are the Leading Method for Suicide
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2024), firearms are the most common method of suicide, accounting for more than half of all suicide deaths annually. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; 2024) reports that firearm suicides exceed suicide deaths by other methods, such as suffocation or poisoning. In line with this, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP; 2024) states that firearms are used in 55.36% of suicide attempts and account for the majority of suicide fatalities across several demographic groups. Firearms have a significantly higher case-fatality rate compared to other methods of suicide, which means that when someone uses a firearm in a suicide attempt, they rarely survive.
The Sex Differences in Suicide Deaths
The NIMH (2024) notes that one of the most significant disparities in suicide mortality is the gender gap. Males die by suicide at substantially higher rates than females (NIMH, 2024; AFSP, 2024). The NIMH documented that the suicide rates for females were highest among ages 45-64 (8.6 per 100,000), and the suicide rate for males was highest among ages 75 years old and older (40.7 per 100,000). Males and females tend to lean towards different methods of attempting suicide. Specifically, while females report higher rates of suicidal thoughts they tend to use less lethal methods such as overdosing and suffocation (CDC, 2024), and men tend to use more lethal methods such as firearms. Because firearms are more lethal, this difference in method choice contributes to why males have a higher suicide mortality.
Race, Inequality, and Structural Risk
Non-Hispanic White individuals and American Indian/Alaska Native populations experience some of the highest suicide rates (CDC, 2024; NIMH, 2024). However, recent studies have observed that there is a concerning increased rate of firearm suicide among black youths in the U.S.. Research has found that the suicide death rate among Black youth increased from 10.09 per 100,000 in 2018 to 13.11 per 100,000 in 2023 (CDC, 2026). These findings may indicate that there are structural stressors, such as access to healthcare and economic disparities, that are impacting suicide rates. Understanding how social determinants of health shape firearm injury and death rates can help explain how structural disadvantage, alongside firearm access, increases the risk of lethal outcomes. Firearm suicide cannot be separated from the social determinants of health. Economic instability, limited access to care, and lack of support create vulnerability and increase suicide risk, highlighting the need for prevention efforts that expand access to care, strengthen social supports, and reduce access to lethal means during periods of crisis.
Conclusion
Research demonstrates that firearms are central to suicide mortality in the United States. Specifically, data reveal that firearms account for the majority of suicide deaths and contribute substantially to gender and racial disparities (CDC, 2024; NIMH, 2024; AFSP, 2024). Studies highlight how these patterns of economic status, social isolation, and structural inequality influence suicide risk (Price and Khubchandani, 2017). Access to firearms during moments of crisis makes it a decisive factor in whether a suicide attempt becomes fatal. Therefore, understanding the intersection of firearms and suicide is essential for developing comprehensive public health strategies.
References:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2024). Suicide Statistics. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/
Deborah Azrael, Lisa Hepburn, David Hemenway, & Matthew Miller. (2017). The Stock and Flow of U.S. Firearms: Results from the 2015 National Firearms Survey. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 3(5), 38. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2017.3.5.02
FastStats - Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury. (2019). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm
National Institute of Mental Health. (2025, March). Suicide. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide
Price, J. H., & Khubchandani, J. (2017). Adolescent Homicides, Suicides, and the Role of Firearms: A Narrative Review. American Journal of Health Education, 48(2), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2016.1272507